What Governments Can Learn From Airbnb And the Sharing Economy

Arun Sundararajan is a professor of business at New York University. This excerpt is from his new book, The Sharing Economy, will be published in June 2016. A potential guest recently sued online home rental service over allegations of racial discrimination by some of its hosts. While the company has since reiterated its commitment to rooting out racial bias, including hiring a former ACLU head to oversee its efforts, the case highlights a broader set of societal challenges we will face as the sharing economy expands into new services.. In my new book, The Sharing Economy, I discuss how platforms like Airbnb and Lyft blurs the lines between our personal and professional lives, creating gray areas for business owners, consumers and governments. It is clear that these digital platforms are…